Certain Azerbaijani Telegram channels have circulated photographs from the occupied city of Martuni in Artsakh (https://t.me/maidentower/58690). The images show that the Church of St. Nerses the Great, located in the city center, has sustained damage over the past two years, with its windows shattered. There are traces of gunfire (Fig. 1). The Azerbaijani armed forces deliberately targeted the church and its surroundings during the 44-day war of 2020, when the city of Martuni was relentlessly bombarded. Shells fell and exploded in the immediate vicinity of the church as well; the marks on the church's south façade attest to this.

It should be noted that the church was built in 2004 through the philanthropy of Alis Ohanyan (https://hetq.am/hy/article/64015).

Our Response

The principal obligation to protect cultural property is enshrined in Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: "The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect cultural property situated within their own territory as well as within the territory of other High Contracting Parties by refraining from any use of the property and its immediate surroundings or of the appliances in use for its protection for purposes which are likely to expose it to destruction or damage in the event of armed conflict; and by refraining from any act of hostility, directed against such property." (Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1954, Article 4, UNESCO, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/armed-conflict-and-heritage/convention-and-protocols/1954-hague-convention/).

The prohibition on targeting cultural property during wars/armed conflicts is also codified in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) rules that possess the status of customary law, i.e., they are internationally binding. Rule 38 of Customary IHL states: "Each party to the conflict must respect cultural property and take all feasible precautions in order to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, education, or charitable purposes and to historic monuments unless they are military objectives." (Customary IHL, Practice Relating to Rule 38. Attacks against Cultural Property, https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_be_rule38). Rule 40 complements this, noting that each party to the conflict must protect cultural heritage: "Any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, and any acts of vandalism directed against, cultural property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people are prohibited." (Customary IHL Rule 40. Respect for Cultural Property, https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule40).

Under Article 7 of the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention, parties to a conflict are required, in the conduct of hostilities, to take the following measures so as not to damage cultural property:

1. a) do everything feasible to verify that the objective to be attacked is not cultural property protected by Article 4 of the 1954 Convention;
2. b) take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental damage to cultural property;
3. c) refrain from deciding to launch any attack which may be expected to cause incidental damage to cultural property;
4. d) cancel or suspend an attack if it becomes apparent that the objective is cultural property and that the attack may cause incidental damage to it which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

(https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/hague-prot-1999/article-7?activeTab=undefined)